the fiscal cliff is a very real danger to the united states economy. it's a recipe for a recession. and i certainly would not like to see the rhetoric that we saw from the treasury secretary tim geithner who said he's prepared to go over the fiscal cliff. that is not a good way to talk about what's going on right now. >> mr. reich, let me ask you the same thing. do you think there's code suggesting they are working towards something? because, doug, as you point out, the language was really harsh during this week. but all of a sudden, here we are friday evening and people are saying these kind of soft things that say maybe compromise. what do you think, robert? >> i think doug is right. it's too early to break out the champagne, but undoubtedly, the rhetoric is softening as we get closer and closer to the christmas holidays. these people want to go home. they want to have a holiday. they know that they cannot go home to their constituents and say essentially, i couldn't get anywhere. we're going to go over the fiscal cliff together. and that's particularly true and particularly diffi